MaxRide

lol I made a video

Nooooo...if you got a four, you got a four. :uhoh: I can't remember what I got on the SAT when I took it in 7th grade...:thinking:

bleeehhhh

ehhhhh

._.

By "long," do you mean on CP overall, or in this thread? :P

Well, mostly, it was the fact that I got really nervous. I'm so awkward sometimes. :disappointed: (Also, I said that "I need to tell you [mom] and dad something after dinner," and my mom kept questioning me about it. ._. She's done that before, but it really bothers me when she does...)

Gahhhhh >.< (I didn't say anything today - yet)

gahhhhhhh nooo

^ I'll think about pronouns in more detail later (though I think I'll stick with "they/them" for now). I only wish English had unambiguously singular neutral pronouns like Finnish does...

gahhhhhh

Well, should I use "xe" or Spivak pronouns (em, ey) instead? (probably the latter, since they still use a similar convention to "they," but are used to refer to one person) (also, to the attraction thing that a few people have been mentioning: I'm not trying to disagree with any of you when I say this, but I can't even see why anyone regarded to be "hot" - even the "normal" type, as opposed to the "oh look I have muscles" type - is, well, seen that way. I don't doubt that any of you haven't felt the way I have at some point, but have you ever not wanted a relationship in the future? [genuine question time]) - Well...today's the day. *nervous*

(I just wanted to respond to the part that I bolded first: technically, you can, by using xe/another neutral pronoun. Now, I realize that people are extremely unlikely to actually do this - I myself will admit that I rarely do in my daily life - but xe can be used regardless of the person's appearance) If someone doesn't know my gender, and uses the wrong term, I will not be extremely offended. I don't expect them to necessarily be aware of any gender other than male or female, due to the way that many people are raised in today's society. If that person is one whom I will be interacting with quite frequently, I will [not at the present moment, but soon] explain my situation and correct them, but if a stranger referred to me as "ma'am," I wouldn't become very upset. From neutrois.com: "There might be a preference to present more closely to one gender over another, or it can be more comfortable to just live as one binary gender rather than the other. However, this choice is more often a result of convenience in order to navigate a society in which only two genders are recognized. A lot of people would ideally opt to have neutrois recognized as their gender and not be forced to make a decision between male and female only." Also, gender dysphoria is a clinically used term. EDIT: Also, I apologize if I seem to be repeating myself a lot; I'm not terribly good with using words in an effective manner.

^ For me, "person" works the most easily in that type of situation. :nice: (actually, off the top of my head, no other word really sounds right in that type of situation; "human," to me, seems to have a sarcastic overtone in this context, and I can't really think of any other way to refer to a member of humankind. :shrug:)

Well, for the first part of your question, I have experienced dysphoria (not as extreme as some neutrois people, but it's still there) when people refer to me as a gender that I do not feel I am (at this point, aside from "she," this has mostly been usage of "girl"). I'm not sure if you already know about dysphoria, but, essentially, I can become unfocused/discontented [for a lack of a better way to say it]. I'd say that's an effect on my life. Now, no one in real life has actually taunted/teased/bullied me about it, but, at this point, that's because I haven't come out yet. (however, to answer your second question, the answer is, simply, the aforementioned dysphoria). Firstly, the reason I made I topic about it in the first place was to make clear what I was/am going to do: come out to my parents. I only wanted assistance and advice - which I now have. That was certainly conscious on my part, but requesting help is not the same as "showcasing" oneself, as far as I am aware of. Secondly, "they," believe it or not, can be correctly used as a singular pronoun. If there was another, unambiguously singular neutral pronoun that was already used by the general public, I would request usage of that pronoun. However, as it is, neutral pronouns are pretty uncommonly used; I haven't even heard people actually use anything aside from ze/xe and hir.

I can completely understand where you're coming from, Kat. Think about it, though: there are some kids who know that they're gay when they're nine. I mean, I'm fourteen, not nine, but the same thing applies; some people 'just know,' for a lack of a better way to put it. I'm not saying that I will absolutely be asexual/aromantic in the future, though; those terms just happen to suit me the best at the moment. If anyone asks me personally, I'll answer them, but I don't showcase the fact (well, not consciously) that I identify as asexual and aromantic. (also, not having feelings for anyone at 14 [well, I'm closer to 15 at this point] is fairly normal? From what I've witnessed at my school, it's unusual to not have feelings/a crush on someone. Granted, that might be infatuation, rather than "true love," but still)

^ In what way? (I genuinely want to know)

Riley invented it before me, so I can't take any credit. :P

ahhhhh

I apologize; what I originally meant by my statement was, essentially, along the lines of, "You can't tell people their identity." It appeared to me that you were basically saying that genderqueer people don't exist. I'm sure that you don't hate me personally; by hateful, I just meant that you appear[ed] to have an extremely negative opinion about non-binary people. That's all.

asdfghjkl

Yeah, that's exactly how to do it. Thank you, Fran. :hug:

I can take criticism, believe it or not; however, to me (and, it seems, a few other people), I am not willing to tolerate what essentially appears to be hate speech. If you will be as polite as you can be, I promise the same towards you. :nice:

I'm fine with disagreement/arguing, but please use my correct pronouns. That's all I'm asking. :wink: (as in, please use "they/them;" I know that it's not what I've gone by for about the past year, but it's what I'm going by now)

..and how is racism related to being genderqueer? :thinking: Racism is directly harmful to others, while being genderqueer/neutrois doesn't harm anyone (same as being gay/bi). I only facepalm-smileyed you due to the fact that you were assuming something to be true when it was not - and in a seemingly hateful way. As my GSA says, "all questions are welcome, but not all statements are." It may sound cheesy, but this is one of those times when a statement is not at all welcome. And as for the ~gender and sexual preference 101~ thing (and correcting Brent), how did I appear to be making myself "feel big," as you put it? I want to help spread awareness of these issues; it's just a plus if I can get recognized for it. However, being known for educating is not my intent, when I just want the information "out there," so to speak.